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South Korean actor Youn Yuh-jung, winner of the award for best supporting actress for her role as Soon-ja in "Minari," poses for a picture with Brad Pitt, who presented the award, in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, at Union Station in Los Angeles, California. (EPA/Yonhap News)

Youn Yuh-jung dropped a "truth bomb" on presenter Brad Pitt just before giving her acceptance speech when she was named Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards ceremony on April 25, becoming the first Korean winner of an acting Oscar.

"Mr. Pitt, finally, nice to meet you! Where were you while we were filming?"

Pitt was one of the producers of "Minari," the film for which Youn won the award. Her playful show of "disappointment" over his absence from the film's set in Tulsa, Oklahoma, helped to release tension and lighten the mood at the event.

The actor's winning personality has been drawing newfound attention. In the process, Youn has cemented herself as a "different kind of senior," beloved by all generations for her candid demeanor as she shares blunt takes in her distinctive voice.

"Youn Yuh-jung doesn't do pretense. She doesn't pretend to know it all or put on airs. She's honest about her emotions," said Jeong Bo-seok, who co-starred with her in the TV series "Listen to My Heart" (2011).

"We really saw what's so great about her this time — the way she doesn't do fakeness," he added.

South Korean actor Youn Yuh-jung, winner of the award for best supporting actress for her role as Soon-ja in "Minari," poses with her Oscar in the press room at the Oscars on Sunday, at Union Station in Los Angeles, California. (Reuters/Yonhap News)

People were especially won over by the no-nonsense attitude Youn has shown in her recent acceptance speeches. She has taken home dozens of awards, and each time she has shared a different response.

At the BAFTA Film Awards on April 11, she said, "Every award is meaningful, but this one, especially being recognized by British people, known as snobbish people and they approve me as a good actor, I am very happy."

She has particularly impressed and delighted members of the so-called "MZ generation" of Koreans born between the 1980s and 2000s. As people who are inclined to speak their minds, they've marveled at the sight of a senior citizen showing such a sensible attitude.

"I'd always just thought of her as a talented older actor, but she blew me away with her acceptance speech," said one musical theater actor in his 20s.

"I think she's able to say those things because she's young at heart," he added.

Youn is forthright, but she doesn't proclaim or force her views on others. She doesn't try to tell others that she knows what's "right."

She also accepts the reality for what it is, declaring that "envying youth makes an old person ugly." She shows consideration for others through self-deprecation, jokingly asking one person if they were "making fun of an old lady."

"In a climate like today, celebrities tend to be very cautious about what they say to avoid being taken the wrong way, but [Youn] just says whatever's on her mind," explained producer Na Young-seok in a telephone interview with the Hankyoreh. Na has worked with Youn on the tvN reality shows "Noona Over Flowers" (2013), "Youn's Kitchen" (2017) and "Youn's Stay" (2021).

Youn Yuh-jung poses for a picture with Na Young-seok, a South Korean television producer. (Oh Gye-ok/Cine21)

"She's blunt, but she's never malicious. She has an amusing way of speaking, but that's because you can sense the genuineness," he added.

"If she doesn't know something, she'll say so. If she's wrong about something, she apologizes. She doesn't pretend to know it all, so she doesn't offend others. There's something really refreshing about that."

Park Sang-su, a former MBC producer who worked with Youth on the network's miniseries "Ruler of Your Own World" (2002) and "Heading to the Ground" (2009), said that Youn was born with a gift of gab.

"Youn Yuh-jung has an amazing sense in her choice of words during a conversation. It's like she's constantly using her brain cells to find the right word," he explained.

"It's this fantastic cocktail of humanities and culture, the 1970s, the US, today, and English."

Speaking about her "language skills" in a conversation with reporters after the Oscars, Youn said, "I've been alive for a long time. I often talk with my good friends. My 'gift of gab' may have come from chatting like that."

Another factor shaping her image as a "different kind of senior" has been how she leads by example. She's someone who assumes responsibility and takes action, rather than leaving matters to those younger than her. In the show "Youn's Kitchen," she spent episode after episode diligently barbecuing in the kitchen.

"At first, I thought she might just do it a few times and then leave it for the younger folks to do while she went off the beach to have fun," Na said.

"She's got a lot of the 'A student' to her. She may talk about how things are 'so hard' or 'annoying,' but she always tries to do her share," he added.

"During 'Youn's Stay,' she would talk about how tired she was, but she'd still sit at the counter memorizing the guests' names. It was really awesome to see an older person making an effort to do things herself rather than leaving them for younger people."

Youn's strong sense of responsibility has also been on display when she has acted in TV miniseries.

"There's no 'halfway' when it comes to her," Park said.

Youn Yuh-jung (provided by Hook Entertainment)

She has an affectionate nature that equals her passion.

"There was a point where 'Heading to the Ground' wasn't going as well as I thought it would. One night, Youn Yuh-jung was leaving after filming had finished, and she handed me a letter," Park said.

"Inside, in small print, she'd offered her own affectionate take as a veteran on what direction she thought the show should be taking," he added.

It's qualities like these that make other actors want to work with her and other seniors want to be like her.

Actor Lee Re, who is 16, said, "When I was watching 'Canola,' I just marveled over all the different indescribable emotions she was expressing."

"Watching her on 'Youn's Stay' these days has made me feel more of a connection with the veteran actors," she added.

Another actor in her 20s said, "When I saw [Youn] accepting an award, I envied her confidence and the way she could joke like that in English."

"It made me want to learn how to be 'cool' from watching her," she said.

For more established actors, Youn offers a role model. The way she takes risks regardless of age is an inspiration to younger performers in their acting ambitions.

"She's had a big influence on me," said actor Moon So-ri.

"Seeing the way she's communicated candidly with younger directors, sharing affection and becoming a source of great strength to them, that made me also want to be the kind of person who's a good friend and a source of inspiration to my directors," Moon said.

Jeong Bo-seok said that the "changing stature of Korean culture" due to things like Youn's Oscar recognition has "brought about changes in the way people think."

"Once my contracted roles are finished, I'm thinking of traveling for a year or so and thinking about what path I should be taking as an actor," he said.

Youn Yuh-jung (provided by Hook Entertainment)

In an interview after her 2010 film "The Housemaid" was shown at the Cannes Film Festival, Youn said, "Going to Cannes doesn't turn Youn Yuh-jung into Go Hyun-jung," referring to a fellow actor known for her starring roles in arthouse films.

"I know I'm not the 'flower,'" she added.

Even after Cannes, she resumed her busy career with appearances in the daily drama "Golden Fish" and the weekend drama "Listen to My Heart." When asked whether she felt like she was taking on too many jobs for an actor who had appeared at Cannes, she replied, "If I don't work, I don't earn a living."

Will things be any different now that she has an Oscar? In a press conference after the ceremony, she said she planned to keep "living like I always have."

"Just because I won an Oscar, that doesn't mean 'Youn Yuh-jung' is turning into 'Kim Yo-jong,'" she added, apparently referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's younger sister. This matter-of-fact quality may be the driving force propelling her to commit herself 100 percent to everything she does.

Among those recognizing Youn was comedian and fellow "truth bomber" Kim Gu-ra.

"Youn Yuh-jung's talent, her passion, her sophistication and the way she doesn't get carried away, her sense of humor, her insight — I think these are the things that young people today want to emulate," he said.

By Nam Ji-eun, staff reporter

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